Healthcare Access Quality and Technology
The topic of health care is evolutionary and widely discussed in the world. Research in healthcare continues to intensify as human beings seek for quality and prolonged life expectancy. Nonetheless, the costs of healthcare have increased gradually in the quest to achieve high quality health care. The purpose of this paper is to describe the cost, access, quality, and the role of technology as they impact the concept of healthcare.
Cost of Health care
The rise in healthcare costs is a global problem impacting more countries every year. According to research, the country’s government has revolved around the struggle to stabilize the health care system for decades now. The effects of high healthcare costs on the accessibility and quality of healthcare necessitate the need to constrain this phenomenon. The efficiency of healthcare has a direct link with cost, access, quality, and technology. Undoubtedly, the cost of healthcare in the US experiences an increasing trend that impacts the general quality of healthcare. According to Bollyky et al. (2017), the US currently spends approximately 1.6 trillion dollars on healthcare yearly, which amounts to 15% of the nation’s GDP. A study by the American Medical Association indicates that the country spent about 3.7 trillion in 2017 on healthcare. The primary reasons for the heightening health care costs regard technology advancements, aging population, malpractice suits, and high administrative costs, among others.
The increase in life expectancy in the US population largely contributes to the high healthcare costs (World Health Organization, 2020). With the advancement in technology, more research has evolved to find treatment for chronic diseases and hence reducing the mortality rate. As people grow old, their medical care and attention double more than that of the younger generation. Again, it means that the healthcare system has to cover their medical costs for longer. Chronic diseases are prevalent among the aging population and hence prompting a rise in inpatient hospital facilities. Additionally, the current increase in chronic diseases in the US population, such as diabetes, cancer, and kidney failure, imposes high medical costs (Chen, 2019). Such conditions require expertise in handling the patients and more spending on the medication. Government policies such as Medicaid and Medicare have imposed an increased demand for medical services hence prompting the service providers to hike the costs of the services (Chen, 2019). Importantly to note such rising healthcare costs imposes enormous impacts on the country’s economy. As more income is spent on the healthcare services, other development projects are affected and hence stagnating the economy.
Access to Health Care
Access to healthcare is a significant indicator of people’s quality of life. Access in this context defines the capability to obtain quality, affordable, convenient, and acceptable healthcare assistance at the right time. The American government has invested immense efforts to increase access to quality healthcare to the whole population (Chen, 2019). While inaccessibility, which is prevalent among the lower classes of people, is a critical contributor to the increased prevalence of diseases, curbing this problem is a vital necessity. Nevertheless, despite the enormous efforts, the achievement level in decreasing the number of people without proper access to healthcare remains a critical challenge. Some of the hindrances to healthcare access include a lack of healthcare professionals in rural areas. According to research, less than 10% of qualified physicians operate in rural areas, which prompts inaccessibility to quality healthcare to the residents (Bollyky et al., 2017). Geographic barriers, such as poor road infrastructure, initiates difficulties in traveling to seek medical help. As such, health care facilities in these areas are small with limited services, and hence the patients have to find healthcare in far distances.
According to Bollyky et al. (2017), an estimated 5-6% of American citizens still lack access to healthcare, despite popping up healthcare organizations, and technology advancement. Such has remained a vocal concern for American residents in the recent past. In light of these statistics, the efforts to reduce the number have remained a priority in the government programs prompting high spending in healthcare. Such programs include Obama Care implemented in March 2010 intending to streamline the delivery of healthcare services to avail them to all the citizens easily. The program also aimed at reducing inequalities in healthcare access to cover the poor and people with special needs. As healthcare transformation continues in the US, some people living in rural and urban places may be at risk of losing access to healthcare services. Although the government has implemented payment programs to account for the unique circumstances of vulnerable communities, comprehensive and integrated strategies to modify health care delivery are quite essential (Bhatt & Bathija, 2018).
Quality Health Care
The quality of healthcare is a top-notch priority in the healthcare sector. Technological and demographic developments have initiated the need for advanced treatments, better patient satisfaction, and short hospital stay. Further, the complexity of healthcare systems imposed by the prevalence of chronic diseases all accounts for the need to provide quality healthcare. Nonetheless, the ability to provide quality healthcare remains a challenge due to the abuse of some services, inequality in healthcare delivery, and inaccessibility to healthcare services. Various factors affect the quality of healthcare provided to patients across the world, such as inaccurate diagnosis, inappropriate treatment, medication errors, and insufficient skills and expertise, among others. According to Chen (2019), the lack of quality health care is prevalent in low and middle-income countries where the vulnerability to acquire hospital infections is higher than in high-income countries. Despite the efforts to minimize such infections through improved hygiene levels and the use of antimicrobials, the quality of healthcare is negatively affected, as depicted through the incidences of prolonged hospital stay and recovery period, re-contraction of chronic diseases, and patient injuries.
Bollyky et al. (2017), states that low-incomes contribute to 20% inaccessibility to quality health care. In light of this, Chen (2019), notes that some people rely on over-the-counter drugs to contain illnesses without thorough investigations by a doctor; a situation that complicates the treatment approaches in case of critical health conditions. As such, this corrupts healthcare quality that the patient may receive in future in case of a crucial health case. The situation is prompted by high costs associated with accessing quality healthcare. Further, the prevalence of chronic diseases affects the quality of healthcare for mild illnesses. For instance, the current COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the need for more health practitioners to concentrate on such patients while sidelining others (World Health Organization, 2020). Notably, as more COVID-19 patients get hospitalized and the complexity of this pandemic, patients who have cancer, diabetes, malaria, among other illnesses, receive inadequate attention and hence low quality of the healthcare services provided to them (World Health Organization, 2020). As such, mobility rates due to mild diseases have significantly increased in the last four months.
The Role of Technology in Healthcare
Technology has played a critical role in unleashing innovative opportunities in healthcare. A significant impact of technology is the ability to carry out an intensive research concerning chronic diseases, to discover approaches to contain them, and hence minimizing the mortality rates (Singh, 2018). Technology-based therapeutic systems that embrace sensing, web, mobile, and bioinformatics technologies with a considerable promise to transform the entire models of healthcare are the consequences of technological advancement (Bhatt & Bathija, 2018). Firstly, technology imposed the ability of patients to select and define the course of their healthcare. Patients can access their data through on-demand tools and hence manage their health behaviors (Singh, 2018). These tools enable them to share their behavior data with family and friends who in turn, gain appropriate strategies to empower and support them. Such aids in reducing the number of hospital stays and visits. A wide range of monitoring facilities exists to capture real-time patient data and physiological state, which improves the effectiveness of medication approaches (Singh, 2018). Additionally, technology has contributed enormously in the healthcare decision-making process. Decision support tools enable both patients and healthcare providers to make better and informed decisions about treatment. However, the reliance on decision making tools should be controlled to manage knowledge through cost-effective approaches efficiently.